Blanketweed
This stuff grows in long stringy masses that can choke out plants and generally take over small ponds.
It does keep the water clear (which is the good news) but it is a rampant spreader.
It tends to be more of a problem in ponds with high organic matter counts and increased filtration is a possible long-term solution.
The easiest way to control it is to put a stick into a strand and start twisting the stick. The stick will roll up the strands and you’ll wind up with a big globby ball of algae on the end. Continue doing this until the algae is under control. Put the algae into your compost pile.
There are algaecides recommended for this problem, the only problem with these is
they mostly tend to be atrazine based and this can (in some cases) kill off more than the string algae. For example, it will definitely kill off the beneficial algae that is keeping your water clear.
Stick twirling and wading about in the pond on a hot day to collect the algae is a minor garden chore – and a safe one at that.
You might want to check out the pages on algae control and the pages on barley straw control which also works on blanketweed.
Click here to ask about blanketweed
